Jan 8, 2020
Japanese abumi (stirrups), inscribed by Sanemitsu (probably 1700s).
These stirrups are completely covered with finely-inlaid silver decoration. Their designs include Chinese lions, peonies, and a waterfall flowing into a brook. The form of these stirrups is traditionally known as hato mune (pigeon breast), and they are the only known pair of stirrups to use a technique of raised silver dots to highlight and accentuate the decoration. They were made in Kashu (modern-day Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture), probably under the patronage of the Maeda clan. This was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū, and were one of the most powerful Japanese families at the time.
